I was inspired to start Gotta Have Sole® because at a very young age I saw children in homeless shelters in Rhode Island who didn’t have shoes or had shoes that were used and falling apart.  Some had to share footwear with a family member and missed school because it wasn’t their turn to wear the shoes that day, and others had sores on their feet from wearing shoes that didn’t fit them properly.  I was devastated by this and wanted to help the children however I could.  I started donating my gently used clothing and footwear but often didn’t have the correct sizes for the children.  I knew that the only shoes that would fit them best would be new, correctly sized ones and hoped someday I would be able to donate these.

Several years later as a community service project for a religious coming-of-age ceremony, which took place in 2010, I started Gotta Have Sole® so I could finally donate new footwear to homeless children.  I am proud to say that even though this ceremony has long since passed, I continue this endeavor and have donated new footwear to over 100,000 children in homeless shelters across every state in the US.  My goal is to reach as many children living in homeless shelters as I can.

It has always been my hope that the children will feel more confident about themselves because they have new shoes to call their own and that they will have the same opportunities afforded to them as their peers.